CH 115

“T-Tia-san!? How!? Why are you here!?”

“Why you ask, because I’ve been called.”

Smiling, Tia had wooden shackles on her hands, and next to her stood another guard, different from the one who had just arrived.

“Saint-sama, I brought the girl.”

“Thank you. You may leave now.”

“Ha! How rude….Che, Damn it”

So the only three people left in the room were Reil, who was trying to get me to rub her breasts, me, who was desperately fighting against it, and Tia, who looked at me like I was horse dung on the side of the road. …. Someone kill me.

“H-Hahahaha… Yo Tia, how have you been?”

“Yes, Thanks to you. Looks like you are doing quite well, too, Ed?”

“No, no!? Oi Riel… no, Sanit-sama. What the hell is this…?”

“I had talked to her before Ed-san. I told her about the contaminated magic and the gem, but then she said she was really worried about you. So I had asked to call her here after I broke the gem.Oh, the reason it wasn’t right after I broke it was because I didn’t know what kind of reaction I would get from you, you know? I didn’t think it would be nothing, though.”

“H-heh. Is that so?”

“Yeah, I was so worried about you, Ed! Well, from the looks of it, looks like I was worried for nothing, right?”

“No, it’s not! I’m telling you, I can’t remove my hand! Please let go of me!”

Even though I was pulling on her arm quite seriously, not only her body but even her thin arm did not seem to budge. It seems that the blessing of God, which says, [No one can harm, no matter how strong they are] cannot be countered by me.

“But if you tell me a secret in exchange for rubbing my breasts, …”

“I didn’t say that, you know?! You assumed that on your own! All right, anyway, let me talk it over with Tia first!”

“Hmm, consulting…. I understand. But not alone together, right here okay?”

“That’s fine! Let me go!”

“Okay, then.”

“Uh!?”

The hand that was holding my wrist was suddenly released, and I fell backwards, slamming my ass into the hard floor. I was in tears, and my partner, Tia, looked down at me through the bars with a disappointed look on her face.

“So, why is this happening?”

“Haha, I wonder why. …”

With a wry smile in my tired voice, I told her the story of what had happened so far. Then Tia quietly approached me by the bars and plunged her own hand into the prison until it was just barely blocked by the shackles.

“Ah that’s right…. Hey Ed, I really want to hug you right now, but this rude iron grid won’t let me. So can you at least hold my hand? ”

“…. Yeah, sure.”

Immediately sensing Tia’s intention, I gently grabbed her hand. Then, as expected, Tia’s voice echoed directly inside me.

[I understand what’s going on. So you’re saying you can’t convince her unless you tell her the whole truth?]

[That’s it. But we can’t do that, right? that’s why–]

[Then why don’t you just tell the truth?]

“……….Wha?”

I let out an involuntary squeak, and Tia squeezed my hand. The way we stared straight at each other across the bars was like two lovers, but what was spreading in my head was not such a sweet atmosphere, but endless questions.

[If I talk about it, she’ll just think I am crazy. If that happens, I might as well join the Hero’s party…]

[That would be the normal case, but things are different now, aren’t they? If hiding it won’t make things better, I think it’s better to talk about it. For the proof of another world, in addition to so much knowledge and information that can’t be just brushed aside as delusional, you have [Stranger’s Box] that cannot be obtained in this world, right?]

[Yeah….]

Yes, there may be. Of course, the knowledge of the 86th world that I have is too limited to be absolutely certain, but there is a high possibility that the dark night stone and the sunshine stone, for example, which we have just obtained, are substances unique to this world.

[And In the first place, something went wrong when your bag contained [Demon Lord’s Heart], which we only saw in another world. If there’s a cross-world problem going on, I think we’d be better off explaining it to them and asking for their help. … What do you think? Oh, or is there a rule against explaining it, similar to how you can’t leave the world without being expelled?]

“……………………”

Her jade-green colored eyes stared at me and I was wracking my brain.

It’s only about my banishment skills that I’ve told a little about, but until now I’ve never told anyone that I’ve traveled through countless worlds while being banished.

….. Really?

Why didn’t I? Because, as I told Tia, you can’t build a proper relationship if you talk such nonsense.

…… Really?

And there was no need to go out of my way to tell them until now. Where’s the point in making statements that disrupt the loop when there’s no need for it? There is no reason to do something that has no benefit and only carries a disadvantage.

…… Really?

Then what about now? By explaining that I’ve been crossing over to different worlds, I might be able to explain how the [Demon Lord’s Heart] came to be in my hands. It’s worth explaining to get us through this. It would also prove that we have no background in this world, so we should rather explain. We should explain.

…..Are you sure?

Yes, because there is no rule that prohibits me from explaining that I’m from…another world. If that’s the case, I should tell the truth. To the Saint in front of me.

….Will it be really okay….?

The common sense that had built up inside me dammed up my intention to continue. But where does this common sense begin? What is it protecting? Or ….what is standing in the way?

“… Ed? What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick perhaps?”

“Eh, uh, no, ………I’m fine.”

It was a short silence, less than 10 seconds. However, from my perspective, I felt a heavy fatigue, as if I had been thinking about it for hours.

Oh, I’m tired. My head is burning hot, but my body is freezing cold. I feel as if my existence is floating around unsteadily and helplessly, while the very foundation of my being seems to be submerged in deep, dark waters.

Everything is crippled, everything is uncertain. If there is only one thing in this place that I can say with absolute certainty that I believe in, it is …

“…… Tia’s hands are warm.”

“Wha? What’s with you all of a sudden?”

“Heheheh, it’s so warm.”

If I moved my hand, I could feel the warmth of her hand. I felt as if the warmth of this hand was the only thing that was keeping me in this place right now. That’s why I said those words.

“Hey Tia, Do you think we should talk?

I have always thought and decided for myself what I should do. I have always been the one to make the decisions.

But now, for the first time, I’m putting it in someone else’s hands. But Tia’s answer will be-

“Why don’t you just do what you think is right?”

Yeah, that’s right. That’s what Tia would say. My thoughts were once again clouded. So my answer is――

“I’d like to say that, but No.”

“Eh?”

“Isn’t that obvious? I wouldn’t push away a younger boy who looks like he’s about to cry like that!”

My body was pressed against the iron bars as my clasped hands were yanked tight. Then Tia quickly chanted a magic spell to break her own shackles into pieces and put her arms around me from the other side of the bars and hugged me.

“Don’t worry, Ed doesn’t have to carry the burden alone. I’ll carry it too. … anyway, let’s get this person involved. Let’s tell her everything. Everything we’ve ever done.”

(T/N: AWWWWWWW, I shed a tear)

Smiling, Tia gave off a gentle scent like a fresh green forest.